Never mind the debate about whether or not humans are actually responsible for climate change, or even if we are, whether there's a reasonable possibility of changing it back again.

My problem with the labels is that it really doesn't serve any use. People don't fill up gasoline because they're addicted to it like cigarettes, where health warning can help encourage personal change.

We fill up with gasoline because the overwhelming majority of all vehicles on the planet run on, for lack of a better term, fossil fuels.

It's not as though the warning label could encourage you to use solar, hydrogen or nuclear materials for your car instead. You are forced to use gasoline because, well, that's your sole option.

I think most people would gladly forgo the pain of chugging $100 of gasoline into their cars every few days for the privilege of driving to work to earn a living, feed their family and pay taxes.

But we don't have a choice.

What's ironic about the gasoline warnings is how desperately all tiers of government rely on the planet-killing fuel for their own economic survival.

Metro Vancouver has the highest gas prices in Canada, largely due to exorbitant taxes levied on drivers.

Assuming a base fuel price of 88.2 cents, drivers must pay a 10 cent federal excise tax, a 5% federal sales tax, a 6.67 cent carbon tax, a 14.5 cent provincial fuel tax, and if you're unfortunate enough to live in an area serviced by the regional transportation authority, 17 cents per litre goes to TransLink.

The federal government collects $5 billion per year in excise taxes, and $1.6 billion per year in GST revenues from gasoline. Collectively, provincial governments collect $8 billion per year in taxes from gasoline and diesel.

Comments

@drew, all mining is toxic. Bitumen is toxic. Copper is toxic. etc … and recycling? Where do you think your car goes when you scrap it? If rare earths are worth $10/lb or so, then you’d better believe that recycling rates will approach 100%. They’re valuable enough that you have the opposite problem – theft and resale. If Tesla-style wall batteries ever become common, it’s safe to presume they’ll be a target for theft as well, as copper wires already have been at times.

@peter Karelse, “fossil water” can be depleted. The water is not “used up” in the sense a fossil fuel is, but if you live in an arid area such as the interior of Australia, then it doesn’t help you if your water is in the ocean a thousand miles away. In that situation, aquifer depletion is a monumental problem where they’re not actively recharging or where recharge is far less than extraction, not helped by irresponsible past practices such as unlined and uncapped wells that basically throw water away. This is a problem in California right now, where they’re making up the shortfalls for their massive drought by “mining” groundwater – to the point where the ground is actually sinking by upwards of a foot a year as pore space compacts.

Peter Karelse commented
2015-11-26 09:51:27 -0500

Andrew the water taken from aquifers is not gone in the same sense as oil and gas. The water cycle is closed ,we have X amount of water in various forms and it all ends up in the ocean if it melts, rains or pumped out of the ground . It doesn’t just disappear.

Peter Karelse commented
2015-11-26 09:40:53 -0500

Andrew you typify lefty ilk by parroting phrases such as getting ahead of the curve in a feeble attempt to belittle those with an opposing point of view, and yet dont know shit about what they are talking about.

Peter Karelse commented
2015-11-26 09:33:47 -0500

Andrew your comment about the rare earths being 500x more plentiful than silver belies your ignorance about the economics of mining. While the element may be plentiful ,it may not be found in local concentrations great enough to mine economically. China has those concentrations, not because they have flooded the market, boy that was another dumb comment. Canada has a couple of projects on the cusp of production but not quite there yet. Check out Avalon Resources.

Drew Wakariuk commented
2015-11-26 00:05:13 -0500

Andrew you also know as well as i do that the second we start mining those in any meaningful way , the green kooks will have those mines shut down.

Drew Wakariuk commented
2015-11-26 00:01:25 -0500

Andrew with the quality of drivers here in Edmonton it is a scary thing to ride a bike, I lived downtown for 10 years here , biked a lot of places, over the years it got more and more dangerous, back in the 80’s we had decent drivers, now we have far too many idiots on our roads. Some future. And by the way i am quite up to date on how we have done quite a bit in the oilpatch for the environment, Alberta has the strictest rules you will ever encounter. The rare earth mines are not safe in any way, villagers are dying as are workers.

Drew Wakariuk commented
2015-11-25 23:58:24 -0500

Andrew i will drive all i want, i do not care what some hypocrite green fool thinks , especially when they never practice what they preach. You know who i am talking about. The Suzukis and the Gores and the hypocrite protesters who pollute more than i do. Like Justin for example, his daddies car is a smog factory compared to a modern vehicle, let him sacrifice it if he is so righteous.

Drew Wakariuk commented
2015-11-25 23:56:14 -0500

Andrew those minerals are not accessible , and they are highly toxic as well, and sorry but your opinion is not fact , nor does anyone need to be dragged anywhere by you. Let me know how well you have people recycle them Andrew , they get very rarely recycled and it would cost a huge amount to do so. And sorry they are not all recyclable. They are far more toxic than oil or gas , so how are they an alternative? And you need 2 tons of these minerals for wind turbine magnets , when did anyone say motors? Try sticking to what is at hand rather than making up strawman arguments. And let me know how you would separate these elements once you do spend a ton of cash finding them? Oil and gas are still plentiful and far less toxic and way way way less expensive, not everyone can afford your pipe dreams. How much more do i have to teach you?

Andrew Stephenson commented
2015-11-25 17:50:03 -0500

Nobody’s talking about traveling intercity, not even the orginal article. It’s about commuters.

And, in the city, it’s perfectly feasible to commute, since you’re not on the #1 near Brandon. You’re in the city, on a level and maintained path such as the “greenway” along Bishop, which I bike every day even in January. It makes you tough and less prone to pouting about Harper losing (or Pallister when he loses).

Deborah Graupner commented
2015-11-25 14:14:51 -0500

Barb Harris – I am a Manitoba girl, and I concur with your comment on riding bikes in a Manitoba winter. I remember how the wind howls and blows, with white out conditions, between Brandon and Winnipeg. Only those who have never experienced a winter in Manitoba, would even think it possible to ride a bike there in the winter. Honestly, I wonder where common sense has gone, because there sure isn’t much of it around these days!

Dan Mancuso commented
2015-11-25 12:32:34 -0500

Ironic how there’s a moral finger shaking against the one trapped into using fossil fuels, but not for the seller…

Douglas McEwen commented
2015-11-25 10:39:50 -0500

I think I would be tempted to carry a marker in my pocket so I can write “thieving lying bastards” on every sticker every time I fill up with gas… I suppose then the video surveillance would catch me and I would be fined a zillion dollars. What’s that old saying, " one convinced against one’s will is of the same opinion still". Notice how I made that gender neutral? Oh well, 3 years to go and we’ll be rid of butterfly boy and all his butterfly MPs.. One can only dream.

Peter Netterville commented
2015-11-25 10:31:48 -0500

Andrew said, "Or you could bike or take the Skytrain or trolley bus (they’re testing wireless electric trolleys in Winnipeg right now). The appearance of there being “no choice’ is only one of not actually making an effort to seek alternatives.”

If you live in the city, possibly, but even in the city suburbs mass transit can be scarce and biking in winter is … well … problematic to say the least. In a country with cities as spread out as Canadas’ cities, vehicles are really the only way the majority of people can get to work.

Barbara Harris commented
2015-11-25 09:28:14 -0500

Andrew – did you know that there is a whole big province that surrounds the city of Winnipeg? I invite you to ride your bike on out to Neepawa in the middle of winter and see how that goes for you. The only busses out here are school busses so you’d have to ride your bike around town too. We can find you a room on some farm maybe and see how you like getting around on that bike when it’s a 5 or 10 mile ride into town at -35 with a nice, brisk West wind.

Andrew Stephenson commented
2015-11-25 09:27:34 -0500

Drew, Rare Earths are fully recyclable. You don’t even need to melt them down for reuse as they’re not wear items. Much like steel, they can be recycled endlessly – unlike petroleum, which is a once-through process and thus very wasteful.

Canada has some of the biggest rare-earth deposits on the planet. They’re not “rare” per se (despite their name, neodynium is the 25th most common element on earth, 500x more abundant than silver. Cerium is more common yet.). The only reason they haven’t been developed is that China flooded the market. You don’t even need rare-earths for either generators or motors; they just make them simpler.

The more I read comments like yours, the more I realize that some people are going to be dragged kicking and screaming into the future, due to some misplaced political allegiance to some sticky sand. Those chugging relics of the 19th century will soon be delegated to history where they belong. We have a choice, we can get ahead of the curve and actively participate in the future, or we can be left behind by it.

Drew Wakariuk commented
2015-11-25 01:40:41 -0500

Andrew we have a hell of a lot more oil and gas than we have rare earth elements. Guess what those are used for? Wind is renewable but right now the turbines are not.

Drew Wakariuk commented
2015-11-25 01:39:36 -0500

Andrew Hydrogen was an alternative ALMOST, it is just to volatile though, it needs to be used quite carefully, the general public is not capable of that though. A tank of hydrogen makes a damn huge explosion.

Yvette Mozol commented
2015-11-24 20:36:18 -0500

If these insane policies don’t stop soon, I won’t have any hair left on my head. This is one of the stupidest thing I have ever heard of. Are these gas stations owners being paid off by Soros? You’re in the business of selling gas, but you’re telling your customers not to buy it, does that make sense to anybody? If I lived in North Vancouver, I wouldn’t buy one ounce of oil from these jerks, even if I had to detour to buy somewhere else & I hope all those not agreeing with their fake science does just that.
Selinger in MB says he will not implement a carbon tax here (oh how generous of him), but not too worry they are going to implement other things.
The billions of dollars slapped on fuel by both the prov & fed gov’ts is sinful.
Andrew S: maybe for some people if they live in a city, they could bike (take their life in their hands) or take a sky train, etc, but when you live in a rural area, this will not happen. Furthermore why should I give up all my comforts because Suzuki & Gore have radicalized some people to think like they do & impose their left wing ideas on all of us like it’s gospel. Have they given up anything? Never will.
They (PM & premiers, & their entourage) will all drive to an airport, talk on their phone, fly across the pond for 7-8 hrs to talk about how bad fossil fuels are & how they can stick it more to the people. Can you be anymore of a hypocrite?
Jack P……you make a good point & the list is endless.

I live in Winnipeg, and biked to work today just fine. I’ll take the bus when it’s too basty, but that’s rare. I bought ten tickets in January and still have four. Again, it’s a matter of attitude.

greig mckinnon commented
2015-11-24 17:56:10 -0500

@andrew, not all of us live in one of the major cities or large towns that offer an alternative. Cars are regularly damaged or destroyed on Manitoba’s pot-hole riddled rodes, so riding a bicycle is scary at best, and not a viable option for sure in the winter. I’ve looked into a horse & buggy (seriously) but town bylaws don’t permit large animals in town, and Selenger & the NDP would bury me, with their punitive enviro-taxes.

Andrew Stephenson commented
2015-11-24 15:55:15 -0500

“It’s not as though the warning label could encourage you to use solar, hydrogen or nuclear materials for your car instead. You are forced to use gasoline because, well, that’s your sole option”

Or you could bike or take the Skytrain or trolley bus (they’re testing wireless electric trolleys in Winnipeg right now). The appearance of there being "no choice’ is only one of not actually making an effort to seek alternatives.

Andrew Stephenson commented
2015-11-24 15:53:51 -0500

“All fossil fuels are mislabeled – oil and gas don’t come from fossils. They come from carbon based plants and animals that have died.”

“Fossil” in this context means nonrenewable on human lifetimes. There are also “fossil aquifers” for example, which filled in an era of wetter climates and are not currently being replenished; unless you deliberately put it back that water’s gone. Same is true for oil and gas. Although you can generate rough analogues from biomass (that’s called biomass, oddly enough) the treasure trove in the ground is irreplaceable in timeframes less than tens of millions of years.

Jack Pallance commented
2015-11-24 15:53:30 -0500

Why not put a sticker on say some liberal’s sailboat. All made with oil products. Or a head of lettuce? Took a tractor to grow it, and a delivery truck to get it to the grocery store.

greig mckinnon commented
2015-11-24 15:25:38 -0500

After Trudeau hammers us with his new “revenue streams” & “carbon pricing”, we will be longing for the good old days of $139.07. At least those of us left who are lucky enough to have a Liberal approved global-warming friendly job, or are on welfare.

Steve McQueen commented
2015-11-24 15:11:45 -0500

All fossil fuels are mislabeled – oil and gas don’t come from fossils. They come from carbon based plants and animals that have died.

Carbon based fuels are renewable resources. But you can’t raise taxes if you agree with this.

Oil and natural gas are renewable resources – takes a few years and dead carbon based life is morphed into oil and natural gas.

Deborah Graupner commented
2015-11-24 14:06:13 -0500

“Signs” – Lyrics

And the sign said, “Long-haired freaky people need not apply”
So I tucked my hair up under my hat and I went in to ask him why
He said, “You look like a fine upstanding young man, I think you’ll do”
So I took off my hat, I said, “Imagine that, huh, me workin’ for you”
Whoa, oh, oh

Sign, sign, everywhere a sign
Blockin’ out the scenery, breakin’ my mind
Do this, don’t do that, can’t you read the sign?

And the sign said, Anybody caught trespassin’ would be shot on sight
So, I jumped on the fence and-a yelled at the house
“Hey, what gives you the right?
To put up a fence to keep me out or to keep mother nature in
If God was here, He’d tell you to your face, man, you’re some kinda sinner”

Sign, sign, everywhere a sign
Blockin’ out the scenery, breakin’ my mind
Do this, don’t do that, can’t you read the sign?

Now, hey you, Mister, can’t you read?
You’ve got to have a shirt and tie to get a seat
You can’t even watch, no you can’t eat
You ain’t supposed to be here
The sign said, You got to have a membership card to get inside, ugh

And the sign said, “Everybody welcome, come in, kneel down and pray”
But when they passed around the plate at the end of it all
I didn’t have a penny to pay
So, I got me a pen and a paper and I made up my own little sign
I said, "Thank you, Lord, for thinkin’ ‘bout me, I’m alive and doin’ fine, woo

Sign, sign, everywhere a sign
Blockin’ out the scenery, breakin’ my mind
Do this, don’t do that, can’t you read the sign?